Expandable inserts are commonly employed for improving acoustic or structural qualities of automobiles. Typically, an expandable material is placed within a cavity of a vehicle body, and expanded, such as by applying heat, during the vehicle manufacturing process to fill a portion of the cavity. Expandable materials may expand into a foam material effective for absorbing vibration or abating noise transmitted through the body structure. Other expandable materials may become extremely stiff after expansion to increase the overall stiffness or strength of the body structure.
Expandable materials are often formed on a carrier to form an insert or baffle assembly that is secured within a vehicle. Typically, mechanical fasteners or adhesives are used to secure the assembly, for example, in a cavity of a vehicle body structure. However, any complexities or undulations in the cavities may cause difficulties in the installation of baffle assemblies, and may also present challenges in the design of expandable materials to appropriately expand within the cavities. For example, carriers are typically formed of relatively stiff material to generally support the expandable materials formed thereon, and may be difficult to properly align with an intended surface within a cavity if even slightly out of conformance with designed tolerances. Further, it may be difficult or impossible to precisely form expandable materials in a shape accurately mimicking that of the structure or cavity into which the assembly is installed. The expandable insert assembly therefore may not properly seal about each intended surface of a particular cavity or structure, decreasing the effectiveness of the baffle assembly at minimizing the transmission of noise or vibration through the cavity or structure.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an expandable baffle design that allows for simplified and accurate installation while also providing adequate expansion and/or filling of an intended structure or cavity, especially irregularly shaped cavities.